The migration and transport of leukocytes from blood vessels into diseased tissues appears to be a critical component to the initiation of normal disease-fighting inflammatory responses. The process, also known as leukocyte recruitment, is also related to the onset and progression of life-threatening inflammatory, as well as debilitating autoimmune diseases. The resulting pathology of these diseases derives from the attack of the body's immune system defenses on normal tissues. Accordingly, preventing and blocking leukocyte recruitment to target tissues in inflammatory and autoimmune disease would be a highly effective approach to therapeutic intervention.
The different classes of leukocyte cells that are involved in cellular immune responses include monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. In most cases, lymphocytes are the leukocyte class that initiates, coordinates, and maintains chronic inflammatory responses, and thus are generally the most important class of cells to block from entering inflammatory sites. Lymphocytes attract monocytes to the tissue sites, which, collectively with lymphocytes, are responsible for most of the actual tissue damage that occurs in inflammatory disease. Infiltration of the lymphocytes and/or monocytes is known to lead to a wide range of chronic, autoimmune diseases, and also organ transplant rejection. These diseases include, but are not limited to, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic contact dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, psoriasis, sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, dermatomyositis, skin pemphigoid and related diseases, (e.g., pemphigus vulgaris, p. foliacious, p. erythematosis), glomerulonephritides, vasculitides, hepatitis, diabetes, allograft rejection, and graft-versus-host disease.
The process, by which leukocytes leave the bloodstream and accumulate at inflammatory sites, and start a disease, has at least three steps which have been described as (1) rolling, (2) activation/firm adhesion and (3) transendothelial migration [Springer, T. A., Nature 346:425433 (1990); Lawrence and Springer, Cell 65:859-873 (1991); Butcher, E. C., Cell 67:1033-1036 (1991)]. The second step is mediated at the molecular level by chemoattractant receptors. Chemoattractant receptors on the surface of leukocytes then bind chemoattractant cytokines which are secreted by cells at the site of damage or infection. Receptor binding activates leukocytes, increases the adhesiveness of the adhesion molecules that mediate transendothelial migration, and promotes directed migration of the cells toward the source of the chemoattractant cytokine.
Chemotactic cytokines (leukocyte chemoattractant/activating factors) also known as chemokines, also known as intercrines and SIS cytokines are a group of inflammatory/immunomodulatory polypeptide factors, of molecular weight 6-15 kDa, that are released by a wide variety of cells such as macrophages, monocytes, eosinophils, neutrophiles, fibroblasts, vascular endotherial cells, smooth muscle cells, and mast cells, at inflammatory sites (reviewed in Luster, New Eng. J Med., 338, 436-445 (1998) and Rollins, Blood, 90, 909-928 (1997)). Also, chemokines has been described in Oppenheim, J. J. et al., Annu. Rev. Immunol., 9:617-648 (1991); Schall and Bacon, Curr. Opin. Immunol., 6:865-873 (1994); Baggiolini, M., et al., and Adv. Immunol., 55:97-179 (1994). Chemokines have the ability to stimulate directed cell migration, a process known as chemotaxis. Each chemokine contains four cysteine residues (C) and two internal disulfide bonds. Chemokines can be grouped into two subfamilies, based on whether the two amino terminal cysteine residues are immediately adjacent (CC family) or separated by one amino acid (CXC family). These differences correlate with the organization of the two subfamilies into separate gene clusters. Within each gene cluster, the chemokines typically show sequence similarities between 25 to 60%. The CXC chemokines, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating protein-2 (NAP-2) and melanoma growth stimulatory activity protein (MGSA) are chemotactic primarily for neutrophils and T lymphocytes, whereas the CC chemokines, such as RANTES, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, the monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, MCP-4, and MCP-5) and the eotaxins (−1 and −2) are chemotactic for, among other cell types, macrophages, T lymphocytes, eosinophils, dendritic cells, and basophils. There also exist the chemokines lymphotactin-1, lymphotactin-2 (both C chemokines), and fractalkine (a CXXXC chemokine) that do not fall into either of the major chemokine subfamilies.
MCP-1 (also known as MCAF (abbreviation for macrophage chemotactic and activating factor) or JE) is a CC chemokine produced by monocytes/macrophages, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and vascular endothelial cells and causes cell migration and cell adhesion of monocytes (see for example Valente, A. J., et al., Biochemistry, 1988, 27, 4162; Matsushima, K., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1989, 169, 1485; Yoshimura, T., et al., J. Immunol., 1989, 142, 1956; Rollins, B. J., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1988, 85, 3738; Rollins, B. J., et al., Blood, 1991, 78, 1112; Jiang, Y., et al., J. Immunol., 1992, 148, 2423; Vaddi, K., et al., J. Immunol., 1994, 153, 4721), memory T lymphocytes (see for example Carr, M. W., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 3652), T lymphocytes (see for example Loetscher, P., et al., FASEB J., 1994, 8, 1055) and natural killer cells (see for example Loetscher, P., et al., J. Immunol., 1996, 156, 322; Allavena, P., et al., Eur. J. Immunol., 1994, 24, 3233), as well as mediating histamine release by basophils (see for example Alam, R., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1992, 89, 723; Bischoff, S. C., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1992, 175, 1271; Kuna, P., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1992, 175, 489). In addition, high expression of MCP-1 has been reported in diseases where accumulation of monocyte/macrophage and/or T cells is thought to be important in the initiation or progression of diseases, such as atherosclerosis (see for example Hayes, I. M., et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 1998, 18, 397; Takeya, M. et al., Hum. Pathol., 1993, 24, 534; Yla-Herttuala, S., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1991, 88, 5252; Nelken, N. A., J. Clin. Invest., 1991, 88, 1121), rheumatoid arthritis (see for example Kochi. A. E., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1992, 90, 772; Akahoshi, T., et al., Arthritis Rheum., 1993, 36, 762; Robinson, E., et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol., 101, 398), nephritis (see for example Noris, M., et al., Lab. Invest., 1995, 73, 804; Wada, T., at al., Kidney Int., 1996, 49, 761; Gesualdo, L., et al., Kidney Int., 1997, 51, 155), nephropathy (see for example Saitoh, A., et al., J. Clin. Lab. Anal., 1998, 12, 1; Yokoyama, H., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1998, 63, 493), pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary sarcoidosis (see for example Sugiyama, Y., et al., Internal Medicine, 1997, 36, 856), asthma (see for example Karina, M., et al., J. Invest. Allergol. Clin. Immunol., 1997, 7, 254; Stephene, T. H., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., 1997, 156, 1377; Sousa, A. R., et al., Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., 1994, 10, 142), multiple sclerosis (see for example McManus, C., et al., J. Neuroimmunol., 1998, 86, 20), psoriasis (see for example Gillitzer, R., et al., J. Invest. Dermatol., 1993, 101, 127), inflammatory bowel disease (see for example Grimm, M. C., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1996, 59, 804; Reinecker, H. C., et al., Gastroenterology, 1995, 106, 40), myocarditis (see for example Seino, Y., et al., Cytokine, 1995, 7, 301), endometriosis (see for example Jolicoeur, C., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1998, 152, 125), intraperitoneal adhesion (see for example Zeyneloglu, H. B., et al., Human Reproduction, 1998, 13, 1194), congestive heart failure (see for example Aurust, P., et al., Circulation, 1998, 97, 1136), chronic liver disease (see for example Marra, F., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1998, 152, 423), viral meningitis (see for example Lahrtz, F., et al., Eur. J. Immunol., 1997, 27, 2484), Kawasaki disease (see for example Wong, M.; et al., J. Rheumatol., 1997, 24, 1179) and sepsis (see for example Salkowski, C. A.; et al., Infect. Immun., 1998, 66, 3569). Furthermore, anti-MCP-1 antibody has been reported to show an inhibitory effect or a therapeutic effect in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (see for example Schimmer, R. C., et al., J. Immunol., 1998, 160, 1466; Schrier, D. J., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1998, 63, 359; Ogata, H., et al., J. Pathol., 1997, 182, 106), multiple sclerosis (see for example Karpus, W. J., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1997, 62, 681), nephritis (see for example Lloyd, C. M., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 185, 1371; Wada, T., et al., FASEB J., 1996, 10, 1418), Asthma (see for example Gonzalo, J.-A., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1998, 188, 157; Lukacs, N. W., J. Immunol., 1997, 158, 4398), atherosclerosis (see for example Guzman, L. A., et al., Circulation, 1993, 88 (suppl.), I-371), delayed type hypersensitivity (see for example Rand, M. L., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1996, 148, 855), pulmonary hypertension (see for example Kimura, H., et al., Lab. Invest., 1998, 78, 571), and intraperitoneal adhesion (see for example Zeyneloglu, H. B., et al., Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 1998, 179, 438). A peptide antagonist of MCP-1, MCP-1(9-76), has been also reported to inhibit arthritis in the mouse model (see Gong, J.-H., J. Exp., 4ed., 1997, 186, 131), as well as studies in MCP-1-deficient mice have shown that MCP-1 is essential for monocyte recruitment in vivo (see Lu, B., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1998, 187, 601; Gu, L., et al., Moll. Cell, 1998, 2, 275).
The published literature indicate that chemokines such as MCP-1 and MIP-1α attract monocytes and lymphocytes to disease sites and mediate their activation and thus are thought to be intimately involved in the initiation, progression and maintenance of diseases deeply involving monocytes and lymphocytes, such as atherosclerosis, restenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, ulcerative colitis, nephritis (nephropathy), multiple sclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, myocarditis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, sarcoidosis, Crohn's disease, endometriosis, congestive heart failure, viral meningitis, cerebral infarction, neuropathy, Kawasaki disease, and sepsis (see for example Rovin, B. H., et al., Am. J. Kidney. Dis., 1998, 31, 1065; Lloyd, C., et al., Curr. Opin. Nephrol. Hypertens., 1998, 7, 281; Conti, P., et al., Allergy and Asthma Proc., 1998, 19, 121; Ransohoff, R. M., et al., Trends Neurosci., 1998, 21, 154; MacDermott, R. P., et al., Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 1998, 4, 54).
The chemokines bind to specific cell-surface receptors belonging to the family of G-protein-coupled seven-transmembrane-domain proteins (reviewed in Horuk, Trends Pharm. Sci., 15, 159-165 (1994)) which are termed “chemokine receptors.” On binding their cognate ligands, chemokine receptors transduce an intracellular signal through the associated trimeric G proteins, resulting in, among other responses, a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration, changes in cell shape, increased expression of cellular adhesion molecules, degranulation, and promotion of cell migration.
Genes encoding receptors of specific chemokines have been cloned, and it is now known that these receptors are G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane receptors present on various leukocyte populations. So far, at least five CXC chemokine receptors (CXCR1-CXCR5) and eight CC chemokine receptors (CCR1-CCR8) have been identified. For example IL-8 is a ligand for CXCR1 and CXCR2, MIP-1α is that for CCR1 and CCR5, and MCP-1 is that for CCR2A and CCR2B (for reference, see for example, Holmes, W. E., et al., Science 1991, 253, 1278-1280; Murphy P. M., et al., Science, 253, 1280-1283; Neote, K. et al, Cell, 1993, 72, 415425; Charo, I. F., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 2752-2756; Yamagami, S., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1994, 202, 1156-1162; Combadier, C., et al., The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1995, 270, 16491-16494, Power, C. A., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1995, 270, 19495-19500; Samson, M., et al., Biochemistry, 1996, 35, 3362-3367; Murphy, P. M., Annual Review of Immunology, 1994, 12, 592-633). It has been reported that lung inflammation and granuroma formation are suppressed in CCR1-deficient mice (see Gao, J.-L., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 185, 1959; Gerard, C., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1997, 100, 2022), and that recruitment of macrophages and formation of atherosclerotic lesion decreased in CCR2-deficient mice (see Boring, L., et al., Nature, 1998, 394, 894; Kuziel, W. A., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 1997, 94, 12053; Kurihara, T., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 186, 1757; Boring, L., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1997, 100, 2552).
Accordingly, drugs which inhibit the binding of chemokines such as MCP-1 and/or MIP-1α to these receptors, e.g., chemokine receptor antagonists, may be useful as pharmaceutical agents which inhibit the action of chemokines such as MCP-1 and/or MIP-1α on the target cells, but the prior art is silent regarding 3-aminopyrrolidine derivatives having such pharmacological effects. The identification of compounds that modulate the function of CCR2 and/or CCR5 represents an excellent drug design approach to the development of pharmacological agents for the treatment of inflammatory conditions and diseases associated with CCR2 and/or CCR5 activation, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other inflammatory diseases. The present invention provides a long felt need in the field of chemokine receptor modulators and antagonists.